𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿-𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗮 • Left: To hide from the human immune […]

𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿-𝗖𝗼𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗮

• Left: To hide from the human immune system, the coronavirus wraps its essential and exposed spike protein (light blue) in a sugar coat (dark blue).

• Right: The exposed receptor-binding domain (RBD) nub up top is the target for an anti-viral drug. Baker’s Lab at UW has computationally built a novel molecule LCB1 that clogs up that receptor by binding strongly to the RBD cavity, making it unable to bind to human cells, the prerequisite for infection. In the bottom right, grey represents the computational design prediction, and magenta shows measured results (a close match).

Sources:
• Left: The NYT just published a lovely lay summary of the striking visualizations of coronavirus showing some of its tricks. For example, it codes for a small molecule that jams up the ribosome, the human molecular machine that translates RNA code into proteins. So besides the sugar-shawl, and other defensive tricks, this one actively interferes with the genetic translational machinery itself! NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-unveiled.html And for a more technical overview of the glycosylation of SARS-CoV-2 S: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6501/330

• Right: I am a donor to Baker’s Institute for Protein Design, and got the update on their antiviral and vaccine work on a recent Zoom. They designed small protein “minibinders” in a computational simulation, and when tested, they neutralized the SARS-CoV-2 virus 3x better than the most potent monoclonal antibody described to date. From the Sept 𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 paper: https://www.bakerlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Cao_etal_Science_COVID_spike_binders.pdf